SPOKANE,
WASHINGTON--The death of a Spokane man, who died two days after being
restrained, handcuffed, hogtied, and shocked with a taser stun gun by police,
has been ruled a homicide.

Spokane County Medical Examiner Sally Aiken issued a death certificate
Tuesday, saying that Otto Carl Zehm, 36, died on March 20 of the earlier heart
attack "while restrained in a prone position for excited delirium", a condition
that is common with methamphetamine users.

Acting Chief of Police Jim Nicks told KXLY-TV that no illegal or legal
drugs were found in Zehm's system, not even the medication that was prescribed
for his schizophrenia. Nicks suggested that if Zehm had taken his medication,
he might not have acted "in a bizarre manner" at a bank ATM, which originally
prompted officers to seek him out and arrest him at the nearby Zip Trip
convenience store.

Nicks added that the "hobble restraint" officers used -- which involved
cuffing Zehm's wrists and ankles, then connecting the two with a strap behind
his back -- followed proper police procedure.

Aiken's homicide finding does not necessarily mean that any of the seven
Spokane Police officers who were involved in Zehm's restraint would be charged
with a crime. Under Washington law, a homicide ruling means that the death was
caused at the hands of one or more persons, but does not mean those involved
intended to cause the death.

The Spokane County Sheriff's Department is conducting an investigation
into any wrongdoing by Spokane city officers. Questions were raised about that
investigation in April after it was revealed that sheriff's deputies requested
a warrant for Zehm's medical, mental health, and employment records. The
detectives said they needed the information to follow up on the officers'
claims that Zehm assaulted them.

Some legal experts said that it was highly unusual for investigators to
probe the past of a dead person who cannot be charged with a crime.

On Thursday, the Spokesman-Review reported that Zehm's family and the
attorney representing them would be allowed to view investigation files,
including the entire autopsy report, under condition that they not talk about
the contents with the public or media.

Local news agencies and the advocacy group NAMI-Washington have been
trying to get police to release video taken from the convenience store's
security camera. One eyewitness told KXLY that the officers attacked Zehm and
that he was simply trying to protect himself.

Zehm, who reportedly also had a developmental disability, worked as a
janitor at Fairchild Air Force Base under a contract with Skils'kin, an
employment services agency known until a few years ago as Pre-Vocational
Training Center.